Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Adorable Fairy
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Midterms were finally over without a hitch.
Just as I was catching my breath after they ended, Yeon-hwa suddenly invited me to a group chat.
[Ha Yeon-hwa: Poof!]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Hello.]
It seemed like a group chat she’d created specifically to introduce Yoo Ha-rin to me.
It also looked like a place for us Mutant Management Bureau folks to exchange updates and news about work.
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Hello.]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Were you surprised to get invited out of the blue?]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Not really.]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Oh? I was pretty shocked... Yeon-hwa unnie has a habit of jumping the gun sometimes.]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Jumping the gun?]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Yeah. I was just asking about what kind of person our Director is, and suddenly she drags me into this group chat.]
[Ha Yeon-hwa: ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ I figured it’d be better for you two to just talk directly than for me to explain a hundred times.]
[Yoo Ha-rin: True, but still...]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: I’m always welcome anytime. Especially since we’ll be working together from now on.]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Honestly, when the Management Bureau thing first came up, I was pretty thrown off. Me? Working for a government agency? Is this some kind of jackpot? That’s what I was thinking.]
Oh... So Ha-rin thought the same as me. It really is a jackpot. Going from unemployed to suddenly employed.
[Yoon Seo-hyun: What did you do before mutating, Ha-rin?]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Just went to college. Dropped out now, though.]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: I see... I’m curious—what abilities does a Fairy have?]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Uh, well... All sorts of things. For starters, I can soothe people’s minds and bodies, and interfere with dreams.]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Dreams?]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Yeah. It just happens without me realizing. And... I can also manifest nightmares into reality.]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: ...That’s pretty insane in its own way.]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Right? It’s actually pretty useful. Good for mental care, or breaking someone’s spirit... I once put a nasty Mutant straight into a psych ward with it.]
Come to think of it, Ha-rin’s abilities are no joke either...? Manifesting nightmares into reality? Like some dream fairy or something?
I kind of wanted to see it in action.
A Fairy had to be super cute.
...Sia was already incredibly cute, with her cheeks all puffed out.
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Oh.]
[Ha Yeon-hwa: Before I got assigned to Mutant Crime, Ha-rin had it really rough.]
[Yoo Ha-rin: But I made a killing off it. At twenty-two, it was way more money than I knew what to do with—I went on a luxury shopping spree.]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Luxury?]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Yeah, it’s a quirk since becoming a Fairy. Beautiful things just make my heart flutter, you know? So I can’t resist luxury stuff or pretty things... Director, do you have anything like that?]
Something about Ha-rin’s words resonated a bit.
Since becoming a Dragon, I hadn’t shown it, but gems and such did stir a slight possessiveness.
Of course, Jin-ha’s clothes had satisfied that urge pretty well, so I hadn’t splurged unnecessarily.
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Not really? Oh, but treasures do tug at me a little. Though since getting clothes from Jin-ha, that desire’s been pretty satisfied—no real urge anymore.]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Makes sense, being a Dragon and all. You see it a lot in media, right? Greedy Dragons hoarding treasures and gold in their lairs.]
I got what she meant. That’s the common Western image of Dragons. Maybe there was some connection.
[Ha Yeon-hwa: Seo-hyun, Ha-rin is seriously so cute. I just wanna bite her cheeks.]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Unnie says that, but she’s never actually done it.]
[Ha Yeon-hwa: ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I want to, but when we meet in person, my body just freezes up.]
Oh ho. So like Sia, Ha-rin must be pretty cute too. Thinking about it, we were around the same age.
Twenty-four and twenty-two.
Just how cute was she to make Yeon-hwa act like this?
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Now I’m curious after hearing Yeon-hwa.]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Wanna meet up then?]
I’d just commented out of curiosity, and she immediately suggested meeting now.
...No reason not to.
[Yoon Seo-hyun: You free now?]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Yeah.]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Oh, before that—where do you live? If I’m coming to you, I can get there quick.]
[Yoo Ha-rin: I live in Seoul too. Now that the Management Bureau’s official...]
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Oh... Seocho area?]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Yep. Not far from the National Intelligence Service. Wanna meet here? Or should I come to you? Korea University’s not too far either.]
Seocho... Yeah, super close to NIS. Commuting’s best when it’s quick. Not that I’d be going in much.
[Yoon Seo-hyun: Could you come here then? I’ll pin the location.]
[Yoo Ha-rin: Sure. On my way.]
Ha-rin’s tone was casually straightforward.
I was a little excited. If Yeon-hwa was hyping her up this much, she had to be insanely cute.
* * *
This time, I waited for Ha-rin at the familiar café. The coffee’s just that good here.
The owner, who’d been flustered last time, now handled me smoothly.
He was shocked when I mentioned I used to come here before mutating.
I ordered an iced Americano and waited about ten minutes.
The café door opened, revealing a girl who looked around fourteen or fifteen.
Sky-blue hair, blue eyes. But most striking was her ridiculously cute appearance.
It was obviously Ha-rin at first glance.
I instantly understood why Yeon-hwa made such a fuss.
...She’s really cute. I wanna rub my face against her cheeks.
An irresistible urge welled up.
She spotted me too, looking at me with curious, innocent eyes full of mischief that amplified her cuteness even more.
“Hello.”
Ha-rin came straight over and sat down, greeting me. Her calm voice was impressive.
Considering how Fairies are usually depicted as mischievous, she differed a bit from human imagination.
“...So cute.”
“Uh, yeah?”
My unintended words left her flustered—and me too.
Ah, slip-up.
“Sorry, that slipped out. Couldn’t help it. Yeon-hwa was right.”
“...Thank you. But I don’t love being called cute that much.”
Even her slight grumpiness was cute.
I’d have smacked my cousins for that, but on Ha-rin, it was endearingly adorable.
Did the mysterious mutation beam pour all its “cuteness” stats into her when turning people into Mutants?
Honestly, if it wouldn’t be rude, I’d have put her on my lap and nuzzled her cheeks.
Like I did with Sia. No, in some ways, even cuter than Sia.
...Someday, if I saw Sia and Ha-rin standing together, I’d probably snap a ton of photos without thinking.
They’re just that cute.
Come to think of it, Sia said the World Tree project would wrap up soon... Once it’s done, bringing Ha-rin along for a visit sounded fun.
“If that bothered you, sorry. I usually hold back, but you’re just too cute.”
Ha-rin nodded nonchalantly, a mix of grumpiness and familiarity.
“I get it. Even my mom won’t let me go these days—hugs me nonstop.”
“Oh, kinda jealous...”
“Huh?”
“No, nothing. Nice to meet you anyway. Looking forward to working together.”
“Yeah, Director.”
Calling me Director felt awkward.
It hadn’t with the Deputy Director, but it created some distance.
She was a bewitching Fairy in every way. I’d never been one to get close to people easily.
Did she emit pheromones or something...?
“Just Seo-hyun is fine. Feels too distant, and we’ll be working together.”
“Oh, okay. Seo-hyun it is then.”
“Or call me unnie like Yeon-hwa. I’m twenty-four.”
“Suddenly feels like the distance shrank a ton.”
I thought so too.
“Uh, if it’s too much, no need.”
“Not burdensome. I’m used to it... So, unnie it is. You drop the formalities too, Seo-hyun unnie.”
“Sure. Wow, you really are something...”
“Huh? What?”
“Your looks, I mean. Felt it with Sia too, but not to your level.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m not usually one to close distances this fast. But seeing you, I was like, wow.”
“Yeah, it does feel comfy. Most people I meet end up liking me right away. Probably similar to Sia unnie’s High Elf thing...”
Makes sense— Elves and Fairies fall under the fairy category.
Communing with nature, under their protection, all that.
“So, you commune with nature too?”
“Yeah. But not to the level of chatting with it like Sia unnie.”
“Amazing...”
“What abilities do you have, unnie? Besides the public ones—I feel like there’s more. Like at the press conference. Some magic or something?”
Magic... Thinking about what I did to Sia last time, maybe something magic-like was possible. An unrealized ability, perhaps.
“Dunno... I haven’t figured all mine out yet. For now, I can make it rain.”
“Make it rain?”
“Yeah. Probably use it more next spring. That’s when big wildfires tend to hit.”
“And other abilities?”
“Dragon Fear.”
“Dragon Fear...?”
“Yeah. You know how media describes Dragons using ‘fear’ or aura for intimidation? Exactly that. Used it to catch a Demon-type Mutant.”
“I thought my abilities were solid, but yours are on another level.”
“I think so too.”
Ha-rin stuck out her tongue in awe at my abilities.
She said it was her first time seeing a Mutant with such a broad spectrum.